Bottle packing

ABSTRACT

A bottle packing comprises a plastic case having side walls, a bottom, parallel primary partitions dividing the interior of the case into sections, and parallel secondary partitions dividing the sections into individual bottle compartments. Carriers, each holding a plurality of bottles, are received in the sections of the case and have slits in their bottoms and lower side walls to fit over the secondary partitions. Central portions of the secondary partitions are higher than end portions so as to extend up between adjacent bottles and separate them whether they are in a carrier or are placed in the case without a carrier.

nited States Patent [1 1 Prodel BOTTLE PACKING [76] Inventor: UlrichHeinrich Prodel, Grunstrasse 13, D 4902 Bad Salzuflen, Germany 22 Filed:Nov. 4, 1974 21 Appl. No.: 520,918

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Nov. 21, 1973 Germany 2357979[52] US. Cl. 220/21; 220/23.83;.206/203 [51] Int. Cl. B65D 1/24 [58]Field of Search 220/21, 22, 23.83, DIG. 15; 206/139, 203

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,863,759 2/1975 Prodel220/21 X Dec. 23, 1975 Primary ExaminerWilliam I. Price AssistantExaminer-Steven M. Pollard Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Robert E. Burns;Emmanuel J. Lobato; Bruce L. Adams [5 7] ABSTRACT A bottle packingcomprises a plastic case having side walls, a bottom, parallel primarypartitions dividing the interior of the case into sections, and parallelsecondary partitions dividing the sections into individual bottlecompartments. Carriers, each holding a plurality of bottles, arereceived in the sections of the case and have slits in their bottoms andlower side walls to fit over the secondary partitions. Central portionsof the secondary partitions are higher than end portions so as to extendup between adjacent bottles and separate them whether they are in acarrier or are placed in the case without a carrier.

us. Patent Dec.23,1975 sheet 1 OH 3,927,789

FIG-1 US. Patent Dec. 23, 1975 Sh6et30f4 3,927,789

m W W H J R US. Patent Dec. 23, 1975 Sheet 4 of4 3,927,789

FIG. 11

BOTTLE PACKING FIELD OF INVENTION The present invention relates to abottle packing comprising a plastic case the interior of which isdivided by partitions into bottle compartments in such manner that thecase is adapted to receive the individual bottles or bottles containedin carriers or packs.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION Bottled beverages such as soft drinks and beerare sold and shipped in various forms of packing. One packing form is aplastic case divided by partitions into compartments in which theindividual bottles are placed. This packing form has been particularlyapproved as it serves not only for transport of bottled beverages to themarket but also for the return transport of empty bottles. Althoughthere was earlier the trend to the use of disposable bottles orcontainers for beverages, this trend has been reversed for environmentalreasons. Plastic cases for the transport of individual bottles havehence found a wide use.

Another packing form is the so-called pack. Four, six or eight bottlesare held in a one piece wraparound carton so that a carrier for thebottles results. This carrier makes possible the transport of a smallnumber of bottles for household use from the retailer to the individualhousehold. The bottles packed in carriers are shipped from the breweryor bottling plant to the distributors and retailers in corrugatedcartons in order to provide for transport units larger than four, six oreight bottles since the small units of four, six or eight bottles aretoo inconvenient to load and stack. Bottles packed in carriers areuniversally today one-way bottles which must be thrown away after use.They fill the trash barrels and rubbish dumps and on the production siderepresent a very important cost factor which may amount to as much as 30percent of the total price.

In order to overcome this disadvantage there has been proposed a bottlepacking comprising a stackable, plastic bottle case which is suitablefor the transport of loose bottles as well as for bottles packed incarriers. The case has four side walls, the upper and lower edges ofwhich are reinforced, a bottom and at least one partition dividing thecase into individual compartments. In each of the comp artments there isat least one spacer which projects up from the bottom and separates theindividual bottles placed in the case. For example if bottles are packedin carriers with six bottles disposed in two rows in each carrier andwith four of the six packs in a case, the case has two crossingpartitions which divide the interior of the case into four compartments.Each of these four compartments can receive a six pack. In each of thecompartments there are two columnar spacers which project up from thebottom of the case and are star shaped in cross section. In the bottomof the carrier there are star shaped openings which allow these spacersto project up between the bottles in the carrier. These two spacers ineach compartment keep the bottles from bumping one another duringtransport of the cases. With this bottle packing the bottles cannot beas close together as they were in previous carriers packed in corrugatedcartons.

In order to permit the bottles to be as close together in the carrier aspreviously, there has been proposed a bottle case having side walls of aheight at least equal to the sum of the height of partitions in the caseand the height of the bottles to be transported. When the bottles packedin carriers are placed in the case, the bottoms of the carriers rest onthe partitions. If the bottles are not packed in carriers they arereceived in the individual bottle compartments formed by the partitions.The arrangement of the bottle compartments does not need to correspondto the arrangement of the bottles in the carriers. For example, thebottle compartments can have a honeycomb configuration while the bottlesin the carriers are arranged in two rows.

A further proposal for a bottle packing is that the form of the middleand lower parts of the carriers are made to correspond to the form ofthe partitions of the bottle case. The bottle case is provided withpartitions which extend in only one direction and are wedge shaped sothat downwardly widening bulges or recesses are provided to receive thebottles.

While these proposals have presented solutions to the problem ofproviding a bottle case capable of transporting bottles in carriers orloose bottles, there is nevertheless room for improvement. In one casethe height of the case must be greater than usual. In another, bottomsof the carriers are weakened. In many cases it is not possible to usepresent packing machines for filling the cases or emptying machines forremoving the bottles. Hence, special filling and emptying machines arerequired.

SUMMARY or INVENTION It is an object of the present invention toovercome the foregoing disadvantages by providing a bottle packingcomprising a plastic case of the usual size which is adapted to receiveeither bottles in carriers or individual bottles and has the usualarrangement and spacing of bottle compartments so that present machinescan be used for packing and emptying the bottle cases.

In accordance with the invention a plastic bottle case having side wallsand a bottom has a plurality of primary partitions dividing the interiorof the case into a plurality of sections each of which is of a width toreceive a bottle and a plurality of parallel secondary partitionsperpendicular to the primary partitions dividing each of the sectionsinto a plurality of individual bottle compartments, a central portion ofeach of the secondary partitions being higher than the end portionsadjacent the primary partitions or the side walls of the case. Bottlecarriers adapted to be received in the case and each holding a pluralityof bottles have slits in the bottom and lower portions of the side wallsto receive the secondary partitions of the case when a carriercontaining bottles is placed in the case. The secondary partitionsextend between and separate adjacent bottles in a carrier and alsoextend between and separate adjacent bottles when placed in thecompartments of the case without a-carrier.

It is thereby possible to use very simple carriers which are like knowncarriers except that slits are provided in the bottom and in the lowerportions of the side walls between each two adjacent bottles. Thecarrier can for example have only two side walls and a bottom, withopenings provided in the side walls to receive the necks and lowerportions of the bottles so as to hold them in place. It is also possibleto use carriers invthe form of a folding box which has four side walls.This understandably holds the bottles more securely.

It is desirable for the primary partitions which divide the interior ofthe case into sections for holding the carriers to be approximately ashigh as the middle por- 3 tions of the secondary partitions betweenindividual bottles. I

If bottles are to be arranged in two rows in a carrier it is expedientto join the adjacent side walls of two single row carriers together attheir upper ends.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The objects and advantages of the invention willbe more fully understood from the following description of preferredembodiments shown by way of example in the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a vertical section through a bottle packing in accordance withthe invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the bottle packing shown in FIG. 1; I 1

FIG. 3 is a side view of a single row carrier which is filled withbottles;

FIG. 4 is an end view of the carrier shown in FIG..3;

FIG. 5 shows a blank which is'folded to form the carrier of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a side view of another single row carrier which has four sidewalls and is filled with bottles;

FIG. 7 is an end view of the carrier of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 shows a blank which is folded to form the carrier of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a side view of a two row carrier;

FIG. 10 is an end view of the carrier of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 shows a blank which is folded to form the carrier of FIG. 9; and

FIG. 12 shows the carrier of FIG. 6 folded for transport from thecarrier maker to the bottle packer.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED embodiments:

The bottle packing shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises a plastic case 1having four side walls 1A and 1B and a bottom 2. The interior of thecase 1 is divided by partitions 3 into five separate sections A, B, C, Dand E each of a size to receive four bottles 4. The partitions 3 areparallel to the side walls 13 and have a height approximately half theheight of the side walls so that the tops of the partitions are abovethe center of gravity of bottles received in the case. Each of thesections A-E is divided by partitions 5 into four individual bottlecompartments. The partitions 5 are perpendicular to the partitions 3 andhence parallel to the side walls 1A. Central portions 5B of thepartitions 5 have a height approximately equal to that of the partitions3 while end portions 53 adjacent the partitions 3 or side walls 1B arelower, preferably having a height less than half that of the centralportions 5B. In order to impart a high stability to the central upwardlyprojecting por-' tions 5B of the partitions 5, vertical ribs 6 areprovided to stiffen the partitions. The partitions 3 and 5 arepreferably formed integrally with the side walls and bottom of the case,thereby providing astrong one piece construction.

The plastic bottle case shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is adapted to receiveindividual bottles as well as bottles contained in carriers or packs.Thus, in section A there are shown four individual bottles 4. In sectionB there are four bottles in a carrier which has only two side walls anda bottom, the ends of the carrier being open. In section C is a carrierwhich has closed ends. In sections D and E there is shown a carrier foreight bottles arranged in two rows. The construction of the case shownin FIGS. 1 and 2 has the advantage that central portions of thepartitions 5 extend up between adjacent bottles whether or not they arein a carrier and thereby keep the bottles from bumping one anotherduring transport.

In FIGS. 3 and 4 there is shown a carrier of the kind shown in section Bof the case illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 holding four bottles arrangedin a single row and thus constituting a four pack. The carrier is of awraparound construction comprising two side walls 7 and 10 and a bottom8 with the ends of the carrier being open. The carrier is thus readilyformed from a flat blank as shown in FIG. 5. Lower portions of the sidewalls 7 and 10 adjacent the bottom 8 angle inwardly and are providedwith openings 9 to receive lower portions of the bottles as seen inFIGS. 3 and 4. Moreover, an upper portion 10A of the side wall 10 isprovided with openings 11 through which the necks of the bottles extend.The openings 9 and 10 serve to position the bottles longitudinally ofthe carrier so that they are securely held in the carrier even thoughthe ends are open. At the upper end of the side wall 7 there is aportion 7A of reduced width which is provided with hand grip openings12. The reduced portion 7A of the side wall 7 passes through a slot 14provided near the upper end of the side wall 10 and is folded over abouta fold line 13 so. that the two hand grip openings 12 coincide with oneanother and the end of the reduced portion 7A is engageable with theside wall 10 adjacent the slit 14 so as to secure the reduced portion 7Aagainst withdrawal and thereby retain the carrier in closed condition.

The carrier .is conveniently formed of lightweight stock, for examplestrong paper or light cardboard which is die cut to form a blank of theshape shown in FIG. 5. In addition to the openings 9, 1 1 and 12 and theslit 14, the blank is provided with slits 15 which extend across thebottom 8 and into lower portions of the side walls 7 and 10 between theopenings 9.

-In assembly the pack, the necks of the bottles are first inserted inthe openings 11 of the side wall 10. The carrier blank is then wrappedaround the bottles and the reduced end portion 7A of the side wall 7 isinserted through the slit 14 near the top of the top wall 10 and foldedover about the fold line 13 to secure the carrier in closed condition.The carrier containing four bottles is then placed in one of thesections of the plastic case 1 defined by the partitions 3. The slits 15in the bottom 8 and lower portions of the side walls 7 and 10 of thecarrier permit the partitions 5 of the case to extend into the carrierbetween adjacent bottles. The higher central portions of the partitions5 extend between the bottles sufficiently to separate them andeffectively prevent them from bumping one another during transport. Byreason of the end portions 5A of the partitions 5 being lower than thecentral portion 53, the slits 15 do not need to extend as high in theside walls 7- and 10 of the carrier so that the carrier is notmaterially weakened by the slits.

In FIGS. 6 to 8 there is shown another carrier which is likewise adaptedto be insertable in the bottle case of FIGS; 1 and 2. This carrier hastwo long side walls 16 and two short end walls 17. As in the carrier ofFIGS. 3 to 5 slits 15 are provided in the bottom and the lower portionsof theside walls 16 to permit entry of the partitions 5 between adjacentbottles when the carrier is placed inthe case 1. An upper end portion ofone of the side walls'16 is provided with a hand grip opening 12'whilean upper end portion of the other side wall 16 is provided with two handgrip openings 12 and a fold line1l3 so that the latter portion can befolded over the upper end of the first mentioned side wall as seen inFIG. 7. The end walls I7'do not extend the fullhei'ght of the walls butonly a portion of the height, for example to the lower portion ofthenecl As""seen from FIGS. 7 and 8the end walls 17 are formed'byflapsprovided at opposite ends of the side wallsI16' and joined together by aglue strip ZL'The'flapscan of course be otherwise joined. The end walls17 are provided with a central fold'line 18 and'the' bottom 19 isprovided with a central fold line' 20 sothat the carrier can becollapsed to a flat condition as illustrated 'in FIG. 12. The carrierscan hence be stored and can be shipped from the carrier manufacturer tothe bottler in a very compact condition. When the carriers are to befilled with bottles they are opened up so that the two halves of eachend wall lie in a common plane and the side walls are spaced apart adistance equal to the diameter of the bottles. This occurs automaticallywhen the carrier is inserted in the plastic case 1. Thus, when a bottlecase is provided with empty carriers it can be filled with bottles by ausual packing machine. It is not necessary to close the tops of thecarriers as this can be done by the customers merely by bringing theupper portions of the two side walls together and folding the upper endportion of the longer side wall over the upper end of the shorter sidewall so that the hand grip portions 12 are in registry with one another.

In FIGS. 9 to 11 there is shown a carrier which corresponds in generalto two of the carriers of FIGS. 6 to 8 joined together at their upperends so as to hold eight bottles arranged in two rows. The carrier thushas two adjacent inner side walls 16A and two outer side walls 163. Thetwo inner side walls 16A are joined together by a fold line 22 at thetop of the carrier. Upper portions of the outer side walls 16B slopeinwardly as seen in FIG. 10 and are provided with openings 11 for thenecks of the bottles. A hand grip opening 12 is provided near the upperend of each of the side walls. The outer side walls 168 are longer thanthe inner side walls 16A so that when bent to the form shown in FIG. 10the hand grip openings in the outer side walls coincide with those ofthe inner side walls. End walls 17 are formed of flaps joined togetherby glue strips 21 as described in conjunction with FIGS. 6 to 8. Theyextend only a portion of the height of the bottles. The end walls 17 areprovided with central fold lines 18 and the bottoms 19 of the two halvesof the carrier are provided with fold lines 20 so that the carrier canbe collapsed for packing and shipping.

The bottom 19 and lower portions of the side walls 16A and 16B of eachhalf of the carrier are provided with slits 15. When a double carriersuch as is shown in FIGS. 9 to l l is put into a plastic case as shownin FIG. 1, it occupies two adjacent sections of the case. Thus, forexample in FIG. 1 a carrier in accordance with FIGS. 9 to 11 is shownoccupying sections D and E. The two adjacent inner side walls 16Astraddle a partition 3 between the adjacent sections of the case. Aswith the carrier of FIGS. 6 to 8 that of FIGS. 9 to 11 can be placedempty in a case and then filled by a packing machine of the usual kind.The top of the carrier can be left open for closure by a customer merelyby gripping the hand grip portions provided at the upper ends of theside walls. If desired the joining fold line 22 can be perforated,slitted or scored so that the two halves of the eight pack provided bythe double carrier can readily be separated from one another if acustomer desires only four bottles. Instead of making the double carrierfrom a single blank as illustrated in FIG. '11 the'two' halves=of thecarrier can be made separately and thereafter joined. to one another forexample by adhesive or stapling at the upper ends of thesidewalls. If acase is intended-.to accommodate only double carriers such as that shownin FIGS. 9 to 11, it is provided with an even number of sectionsinsteadof with an odd number as illustrated in FIG. '1.

It will be understood that with the "construction of a bottle caseand'carriers as herein illustrated and described the filled bottlescan-be shipped to the distributor and retailer with the bottles incarriers so as to form four packs, 's'ix packs or eight packs as desiredwhich are sold to customers. When the empty bottles are returned to adealer they can be placed in the same plastic bottle case withoutcarriers and shipped back to the bottler. The partitions 5 of the caseprevent the bottles from bumping one another regardless of whether ornot the bottles are in a carrier. The cases in accordance with theinvention are of usual size and can be filled and emptied with automaticmachinery of the usual kind for filling and emptying cases which areused without carriers.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustrated inthe drawings and are herein particularly described, it will beunderstood by those skilled in the art that modifications may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. A bottle packingcomprising a plastic case having side walls and a bottom, a plurality ofparallel primary partitions dividing the interior of said case into aplurality of sections each of which is of a width to receive a bottleand a plurality of parallel secondary partitions perpendicular to saidprimary partitions dividing each of said sections into a plurality ofindividual bottle compartments, a central portion of each of saidsecondary partitions being higher than opposite end portions adjacentsaid primary partitions or said side walls, and bottle carriers adaptedto be received in said sections of said case and each holding aplurality of hottles, each of said carriers having side walls and a bottom, said bottom and lower portions of said side walls of the carrierbeing slotted to receive said secondary partitions when a carriercontaining bottles is placed in said case, whereby said secondarypartitions extend between and separate adjacent bottles in a carrier andalso extend between and separate adjacent bottles when placed in saidcase without a carrier.

2. A bottle packing according to claim 1, in which said carrier has twoside walls one of which has an upper end portion of reduced width andthe other has in its upper portion a slit in which said portion ofreduced width is received.

3. A bottle packing according to claim 2, in which an upper part of saidportion of reduced width is folded over and engages the slitted upperportion to retain said portion of reduced width in said slit.

4. A bottle packing according to claim 2, in which one of said sidewalls of the carrier has holes through which necks of the bottle extend.

5. A bottle packing according to claim 1, in which said carrier has fourside walls comprising two outer side walls and two adjacent inner sidewalls, said carrier holding two rows of bottles and being received intwo adjacent sections of the case with one of said primary partitionsreceived between said adjacent inner side walls of the carrier.

'6; A bottle packing according to claim 5, in which said outer sidewalls of the carrier have holes through which necks of the bottlesextend.

7.A bottle packing according to claims, in which said carrier has endwalls of lesser height than said side walls. I

8. A bottle packing according to claim 7, in which said end wallscomprise flaps at opposite ends of opposite side walls bent inwardly andsecured together.

9. A bottle packing according to claim 1, in which said carrier has twoopposite side walls and two end tles are joined at their upper ends. ll

1. A bottle packing comprising a plastic case having side walls and abottom, a plurality of parallel primary partitions dividing the interiorof said case into a plurality of sections each of which is of a width toreceive a bottle and a plurality of parallel secondary partitionsperpendicular to said primary partitions dividing each of said sectionsinto a plurality of individual bottle compartments, a central portion ofeach of said secondary partitions being higher than opposite endportions adjacent said primary partitions or said side walls, and bottlecarriers adapted to be received in said sections of said case and eachholding a plurality of bottles, each of said carriers having side wallsand a bottom, said bottom and lower portions of said side walls of thecarrier being slotted to receive said secondary partitions when acarrier containing bottles is placed in said case, whereby saidsecondary partitions extend between and separate adjacent bottles in acarrier and also extend between and separate adjacent bottles whenplaced in said case without a carrier.
 2. A bottle packing according toclaim 1, in which said carrier has two side walls one of which has anupper end portion of reduced width and the other has in its upperportion a slit in which said portion of reduced width is received.
 3. Abottle packing according to claim 2, in which an upper part of saidportion of reduced width is folded over and engages the slitted upperportion to retain said portion of reduced width in said slit.
 4. Abottle packing according to claim 2, in which one of said side walls ofthe carrier has holes through which necks of the bottle extend.
 5. Abottle packing according to claim 1, in which said carrier has four sidewalls comprising two outer side walls and two adjacent inner side walls,said carrier holding two rows of bottles and being received in twoadjacent sections of the case with one of said primary partitionsreceived between said adjacent inner side walls of the carrier.
 6. Abottle packing according to claim 5, in which said outer side walls ofthe carrier have holes through which necks of the bottles extend.
 7. Abottle packing according to claim 5, in which said carrier has end wallsof lesser height than said side walls.
 8. A bottle packing according toclaim 7, in which said end walls comprise flaps at opposite ends ofopposite side walls bent inwardly and secured together.
 9. A bottlepacking according to claim 1, in which said carrier has two oppositeside walls and two end walls comprising flaps at opposite ends of saidside walls bent inwardly and secured together.
 10. A bottle packingaccording to claim 1, in which the central portions of said secondarypartitions are approximately as high as said primary partitions.
 11. Abottle packing according to claim 1, in which ribs in the centralportions of said secondary partitions stiffen said secondary partitions.12. A bottle packing according to claim 1, in which two adjacentcarriers each holding a single row of bottles are joined at their upperends.